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Canada and the United States will make their highly anticipated debut this Friday in the , just a day after Mexico kicked off the tournament with a convincing 2-0 victory over South Africa at the Azteca Stadium.
The goals by Julián Quiñones in the ninth minute and Raúl Jiménez in the 67th minute gave the Tri its first victory in a World Cup opening match, setting a high standard for the other two host countries.
The first to take the field will be Canada in the afternoon, as they kick off their participation in Group B against Bosnia and Herzegovina at BMO Field in Toronto, which has a capacity of 45,000 spectators.
The Canadians arrive with the hope of making history: they have never advanced beyond the group stage in a World Cup, and playing at home represents their best opportunity to achieve that.
Their main figures are Alphonso Davies, the team's captain despite having physical doubts before the tournament, and forward Jonathan David, the offensive reference for the North American squad.
However, Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be an easy opponent. The Balcans return to the World Cup 12 years after their only participation, in Brazil 2014, and they are led by Edin Džeko, who is 40 years old and the all-time top scorer for the national team with 73 goals in 148 international matches.
Džeko was the top scorer for Bosnia in the qualifiers with six goals, and the team reached the tournament by overcoming the playoffs against Wales and Italy in penalties, which speaks to their competitive spirit.
In the evening, the most anticipated match of the day will take place: United States will debut against Paraguay at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Los Angeles.
The so-called "golden generation" of American soccer arrives with a roster filled with established players in the top European leagues: Christian Pulisic at AC Milan, Weston McKennie at Juventus, Tyler Adams at AFC Bournemouth, Gio Reyna at Borussia Mönchengladbach, Folarin Balogun at AS Monaco, and Tim Weah at Olympique de Marseille.
Paraguay, which returns to the World Cup after 16 years of absence, is in Group D alongside the United States, Turkey, and Australia, and is expected to be a tough opponent for the host.
A striking detail is that Donald Trump will not be present at the debut of his selection. According to the White House, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the official delegation of the U.S. government at the match.
If both hosts achieve victory this Friday, the first day of the tournament will have been perfect for the three organizing countries, solidifying the region's prominent role at the start of the first World Cup in history featuring 48 teams.
Canada's next match will be against Qatar on June 18, while the United States will return to the field on June 19 against Australia.
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